MPR

The farmers leaving hemp due to looming federal ban

After growing hemp since 2019, Jeremy Saueressig decided to plant more soybeans this year instead. He’s among the hemp farmers calling it quits due to uncertainty....

4 days ago

Mayo lawsuit highlights ethical concerns in use of AI

There's a rush to be first to better treat patients with sophisticated technology and to cut costs. But experts say they need to slow down to ensure quality, accuracy and that AI is used ethically and...

4 days ago

New bilingual poetry collection by MN refugee advocate

Poems in Ana Fores Tomayo’s new collection, “Peregrina/Pilgrim” are in both English and Spanish but are not straight translations because, she says, that’s “not poetry." Fores Tomayo is executive dire...

4 days ago

Art Hounds: circus, drag and textiles

A twilight river circus, a fusion of opera and drag and a collaborative Lake Superior quilt are among this week’s Art Hounds recommendations....

4 days ago

Elon Musk's AI company argues in court for end to state's fake nudity ban

The company X.AI is asking a federal judge to block a state law that bans AI platforms from depicting people naked....

5 days ago

Walker, artist respond after visitors mistake digital work for ‘AI slop’

The Walker Art Center is adding context to a new exhibition after visitors mistook digitally rendered artwork for generative AI....

5 days ago

Quality coffee, Ojibwe bonds build a business on the Fond du Lac Reservation in NE Minnesota

At a roadside kiosk on the reservation, Jackson Ripley and his family blend great coffee and Ojibwe culture together with a bit of magic. In the process, they’ve built new community ties, and they’re ...

5 days ago

Why Minnesota gas prices are above $4 and the national average

Minnesota's average gas price has climbed above $4 again. As of Wednesday, it’s 20 cents above the national average....

5 days ago

Lindell ticket seeks court look at governor defeat

After a sound defeat in Minnesota’s Republican primary for governor, the running mate of Mike Lindell is pushing for a high court review of the election results....

5 days ago

Bell's home run, Jeffers' two-run double push Twins past Braves 4-1

Josh Bell hit a two-run homer, Ryan Jeffers drove in Minnesota’s other two runs, and the Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1. Bell hit his 17th home run of the year over the right-center field wall in t...

5 days ago

Trump says U.S. and Canada reached deal to delay 50% U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports

President Trump said he was delaying the 50 percent U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports after the two countries reached a last-minute deal less than two hours before the sanctions were to go into effect....

5 days ago

Appleton ICE detention center begins hiring process

Before it closed in 2010, the Prairie Correctional Facility employed between 300 and 400 people. The operator of the facility is holding a series of job fairs to restaff the center, which is expected ...

5 days ago

Bench honors Annunciation victim by his favorite lake

The Kenny Neighborhood Association installed a memorial bench at Grass Lake for the 8-year-old killed in the Annunciation Catholic Church and School mass shooting nearly a year ago....

5 days ago

Klobuchar aims to distance herself from Walz

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has built a brand as a politician willing to put her head down and work across the aisle to get things done. In her bid for Minnesota governor, she’s working to distinguish her...

5 days ago

New Ulm builds tiny homes to provide affordable housing

One southern Minnesota town is saying yes more often to alternative types of homes to help address its housing shortage....

5 days ago

Leech Lake Tribal College celebrates new leadership

An investiture ceremony was held Monday evening to celebrate Erin Stresow stepping into the position of president at Leech Lake Tribal College. Stresow brings leadership experience across higher educa...

5 days ago

If all the world’s a stage, Joseph Haj is directing

Eleven years and ten seasons into his run at the Guthrie Theater, Joseph Haj reflects on steering one of America’s leading regional theaters through artistic triumphs and turbulent times....

5 days ago

Group home investigation roils politics worldwide

Politicians in Minnesota and commentators in Liberia were stunned to learn the managing director of the West African country’s National Port Authority was simultaneously serving as the assisted living...

5 days ago

Judge orders full review of materials in church protest

A federal judge has ordered prosecutors to turn over a broader set of grand jury materials for review in the case against 38 people charged in connection with a January anti-ICE protest at Cities Chur...

5 days ago

$150M tribal loan advances Niron Magnetics' plan

A Dakota nation is investing in a Minnesota-based company that aims to produce high-performance magnets created from abundant, sustainable materials....

6 days ago

Properties tied to sex trafficking, Medicaid fraud

Properties owned by a former Anoka County assistant attorney were used in both a sex trafficking ring and as group home sites that stole more than $1 million in Medicaid, according to charges filed Mo...

6 days ago

Derek Chauvin again seeking to overturn state conviction for murder of George Floyd

Derek Chauvin’s attorney on Tuesday filed a third petition for postconviction relief, claiming there was “structural error” in the charges brought against his client....

6 days ago

Frank Beard, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame drummer of boogie-rock trio ZZ Top, dies at 77

Frank Beard, the drummer for ZZ Top, has died at 77. He passed away Tuesday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family by his side. ZZ Top sold over 50 million records and had six No. 1 singles......

6 days ago

Groups targeted by Homeland Security surveillance call on big companies to condemn tactics

Tuesday morning members of community groups and unions targeted by federal surveillance - including some of the 15 anti-ICE activists facing federal conspiracy charges - gathered in downtown Minneapol...

6 days ago

Ellison sues Texas governor to force extradition of ICE agent charged in Minneapolis shooting

Minnesota officials say Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is refusing to extradite an ICE agent charged with shooting and wounding a man during Operation Metro Surge....

6 days ago

Walz executive order moves to block copper mining near the Boundary Waters

Four months after Congress reversed a ban on mining over about 350 square miles in the watershed of the northeastern Minnesota wilderness, Gov. Tim Walz has issued a state executive order to block cop...

6 days ago

She told no one about her agony except ChatGPT. What her death reveals about AI risks

A 29-year-old woman confided her suicidal thoughts to an AI chatbot — not to her therapist, not to her parents, not to her best friend. What can AI learn from her death?...

6 days ago

MPR State Fair tote bag showcases Indigenous lens

Every year Minnesota Public Radio picks a local artist to design a tote bag to be given to thousands of members at the Minnesota State Fair in exchange for donations. Dakota artist Marlena Myles desig...

6 days ago

Ask a Bookseller: ‘Her Last Breath’ by Taylor Adams

This not a book for the claustrophobic, unless you believe in exposure therapy through reading....

6 days ago

Hemp builds opportunity in a Minnesota tribal community

Hoping to diversify its economy beyond gambling, the Lower Sioux Indian Community has put its chips on hempcrete, a sustainable housing insulation. The operation is part of a quiet, national surge in ...

6 days ago

Inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair takes place Saturday

Bookstores, publishers, authors and local organizations will be present for the fair. Tickets are free with registration....

6 days ago

Vigil honors family killed in apparent murder-suicide

Community members gathered Monday night to honor Kristen Brown, her 7-year-old daughter, Evie, and Brown’s mother-in-law, Alice, while sharing memories of their lives and the Brown Bear Daycare commun...

6 days ago

Minnesota home inventory hit seven-year high in July

According to new data from Minnesota Realtors, Minneapolis Area Realtors and the Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors, the inventory of homes reached a seven-year high in July....

1 week ago

Body found along shore of Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said it received a report about the body found along the shoreline just after 11:30 a.m. Sunday....

1 week ago

Judge orders TPS to end for Somali residents

TPS is granted to citizens of certain countries facing conflict or disaster. Most of Minnesota's tens of thousands of Somali residents have U.S. citizenship or other legal status, and are not on TPS....

1 week ago

Fmr. asst. attorney charged in sex trafficking ring

Sampson, 35, created various shell companies to funnel profits from sex trafficking between 2020 to 2026, including while she worked for Anoka County, according to charging documents....

1 week ago

Kids prep award-winning animals for State Fair

Thousands of kids from across the state who did well in their county 4-H competitions are looking forward to bringing their award-winning animals to the Minnesota State Fair later this month....

1 week ago

Lakes Area Music Festival receives $2 million endowment for future seasons

The Lakes Area Music Festival — a nonprofit organization that has brought world-renowned orchestra, opera, and chamber music performances to central Minnesota each July and August since 2009 — has rec...

1 week ago

Families of USS Lincoln crew say Trump should be ‘ashamed’ of conditions on board

President Trump said the USS Abraham Lincoln deployment is “not nearly long enough.” A family member of a sailor on board that ship said those comments are shameful....

1 week ago

Tommy John, namesake for a pioneering elbow surgery that saved his career, dead at 83

Tommy John, the pitching great known for the surgery that bears his name, has died at 83. According to agent Mike Maguire, John died at his home in Bradenton, Florida, on Saturday night....

1 week ago

Meta heads to court in a landmark trial about kids and social media addiction

Four states are suing the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that the platforms were designed to hook kids and that Meta hid the mental health risks....

1 week ago

‘What are we going to do?’ The mom of a trans teen grapples with Trump’s Medicaid move

A longtime Republican living in California says the Trump administration's continuing actions to target transgender youth take a personal toll....

1 week ago

Hayden Panettiere, who starred in ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ dies at 36

A child actor since she was cast in various commercials as an 11-month-old, Panettiere was best known for her role as the country music star Juliette Barnes in the series “Nashville.”...

1 week ago

Liberian official runs MN group homes from overseas

Companies linked to Sekou Dukuly received $36 million in taxpayer money over the past decade to care for disabled adults in Minnesota group homes — despite multiple residents dying and repeated findin...

1 week ago

Fmr. Anoka asst. attorney charged in prostitution ring

Sampson, 35, created various shell companies to funnel profits from sex trafficking between 2020 to 2026, including while she worked for Anoka County, according to charging documents....

1 week ago

Flock cameras face growing scrutiny across Minnesota

While some cities have opted to shut down Flock cameras over privacy concerns, others are reconsidering how they use the technology. Dayton is holding an informational meeting about Flock cameras Tues...

1 week ago

Native entrepreneurs helping build an economic future

For centuries, tribal trade fueled culture and commerce. The reservation system severed those ties, but they never died. A new generation is reclaiming that entrepreneurial spirit as tribes work to di...

1 week ago

Can primary turnout carry over to November?

In Minnesota, Democratic primary turnout was on par with the 2018 midterm election, with both years marking the state’s highest Democratic primary turnout in a midterm year so far this century....

1 week ago

Twins fall to Phillies 9-1 after Bohm makes 5 hits

Ryan Jeffers and Royce Lewis doubled in the sixth for the Twins' only run....

1 week ago

Miles, Collier power Lynx to 92-87 win over Aces

Collier's deep 3-pointer gave the Lynx a seven-point lead with a little less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and Minnesota led by at least five points until Jewell Loyd's 3-pointer...

1 week ago